Federal PUPS Legislation Information Update

The American Kennel Club and our Washington, D.C.-based advocacy team continue to closely monitor...

The American Kennel Club and our Washington, D.C.-based advocacy team continue to closely monitor S. 3424/H.R. 5434, the federalPuppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act. There has been no official action on the bill since its introduction in late May.

As previously reported, the 2010 PUPS bill seeks to expand federal regulation of dog breeders who breed and sell more than 50 puppies a year directly to consumers. This version is a significant improvement over previous versions, which focused on the number of dogs owned, regardless of what was bred or sold. This version would require the new category of breeders to abide by basic minimum standards of care and conditions and to abide by new performance-based exercise requirements.

However, the AKC also has a number of serious concerns with the bill as introduced. Some of these concerns include:

Definition of "breeding female" as an intact female dog aged 4 months or older. Female dogs are not sufficiently mature at 4 months of age to be bred.

Definition of "high volume retail breeder" that is overly broad and does not take into account co- and joint ownerships. Additionally, a reference in this definition to the number of dogs owned by a breeder is unnecessary and potentially misleading.

Exercise language should be clarified to ensure that the daily exercise requirements do not preclude training that involves other types of activity as well.

We will continue to monitor this legislation vigilantly and to outline our concerns regarding PUPS legislation to appropriate members of Congress and staff. Given the issues that AKC and other responsible dog owner groups have raised, and that Congress will be in session for fewer than six weeks prior to the November elections, it is not likely that there will be action on PUPS in the near term.

AKC will continue its education campaign with legislators and we will keep you up to date on any new developments.